Table 1.

Domains of child and adolescent health and well-being

Domain	Definition
Good health	This domain highlights the importance of good physical and mental or emotional well-being. To ensure good health, daily needs must be met by health promotion, stress reduction, disease prevention, universal access to preventive, curative, and rehabilitative services, and support for emotional well-being.
Responsive relationships and connectedness	Responsive relationships with caregivers, parents and family members, peers and the community enhance children’s and adolescents’ psychosocial stability and resilience. Responsive caregiving for infants and young children requires engagement, mutually enjoyable interactions, emotional bonding and language.
Adequate nutrition	Adequate nutrition differs by age and stage of life; a newborn, for instance, requires early initiation of and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months to provide enough nutrition and proper development. After six months of age, they require continued breastfeeding and appropriate complementary feeding for up to at least two years, while older children and adolescents require food choices for an adequate diet that is varied and balanced in nutrients to support growth and development. In addition, food safety and security are critical for adequate nutrition.
Security, safety and a supportive, clean environment	Safety comprises protection from harm or injury, whether intentional or unintentional, including child abuse, violence, and harmful cultural practices and from lifelong emotional, mental and social maladjustment. Safety also consists of access to adequate, stable housing and a clean, safe environment free of risks from air pollution and toxins.
Opportunities for learning and education	Social interactions and play enrich learning and stimulate children’s brain connections from birth. Cognitive, emotional, and social development are stimulated first through strong interactions with the immediate family and the environment. Older children and adolescents should have formal education and training in life skills.
Realisation of personal autonomy and resilience	Personal autonomy is the ability to develop incrementally the capacity to make meaningful choices, have self-esteem and express and direct oneself according to one’s evolving capacities and stage of development. It includes having a sense of purpose, a desire to succeed and optimism about the future. Resilience involves equipping children and adolescents with the ability to handle adversity now and later, persevere, and learn how to cope with adversities.